Genealogy & Local History

Jackson County Records

Information about searching Jackson County vital records such as birth/death/marriage certificates can be found here:  Jackson County Register of Deeds

Online Database Resources

ECHO

An online archive of historical materials representing western Wisconsin history and culture.  This project and collection was made possible through a 2014 Library Services and Technology Act grant.

Wisconsin Historical Society Family History Records

Family history research records from the Wisconsin Historical Society records available on Ancestry.com.

Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers

Full-text Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 90 days ago, plus newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. 

HeritageQuest Online

Access genealogical research including all U.S. Federal Census records, family and local histories, and access to PERSI PERiodical Source Index.

Newspapers.com

Historical newspapers archive from the 1700s-2000s containing thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.

Taylor Museum of History

The library has many resources for studying Taylor’s history, but to make it come alive you’ll want to visit Taylor History Museum, in the original Taylor School building. You can also visit the Taylor Museum of History on Facebook here.

Other History Resources

The National Archives 
A helpful guide to researching primary sources

American Memory Collection 
The Library of Congress’s digitized collection of written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience

American Library Association: Using Primary Sources on the Web
A guide to finding and using primary sources on the Web

Smithsonian Museums Research Center

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Collection
A collection of primary documents and exhibits, with special focus on the Revolutionary, Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods

Constitution.org
A collection of primary source documents pertaining to early American history

100 Milestone Documents
A collection of 100 documents that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965

Repository of Primary Sources
A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources from the United States and around the world, compiled by the University of Idaho

DMarie Time Capsule 
Database of events in history between 1800 and 2002

QuestionPoint
A cooperative of 1,400 libraries, QuestionPoint is an around the clock reference service where librarians answer questions in real time

Government Information Online
Government information librarians who are experts at finding information from government agencies at all levels answer questions on almost any subject from aardvarks to zygomycosis

Library of Congress
Virtual librarians at the Library of Congress answer questions about their special collections such as the American Memory Historical Collection as well as topics ranging from local history and genealogy to science and technology.

ipl2
A partnership between the Internet Public Library and the Librarians’ Internet Index, ipl2 volunteers answer questions within three days.

 

Historical Sites and Societies

Researching a Historic Property
National Park Services guide to researching architecture and historic sites

National Register of Historic Places
Database of historical sites created by the National Park Service

Directory of Historical and Genealogical Societies in the United States

Center for History and New Media

California Historical Society

Oregon Historical Society

Chicago Historical Society

Brooklyn Historical Society

 

Oral History

Resources for Teaching Oral History
Books and websites to assist you in teaching and equipping your students to become involved in oral history

 

Digital Storytelling

TWHistory
Historical reenactments via Twitter, with classroom lesson plan guides

Timerime
Tools for creating digital multimedia timelines

Wordle 
Generate word clouds from text

Scrapblog 
A multimedia scrapbook tool that provides templates and allows users to save, share, and print work

Shape Collage
Allows users to create picture collages in different shapes

Visual CV
Create online resumes which can include links to video, audio, PDFs, etc

Go to PBS Teachers for more than 3000+ lesson plans and activities.